Kmart to close in Mount Pleasant

The anchor store of a Mount Pleasant shopping center is scheduled to close soon.

The Big Kmart at Johnnie Dodds Boulevard and Bowman Road will close to the public at 6 p.m. on Sunday, a store manager said.

Big Kmart in Mount Pleasant will close to the public on Sunday. (Photo by Ashley Barker)

A liquidation sale for the store’s remaining inventory began at the end of October, according to Howard Riefs, director of corporate communications for Sears Holdings Corporation, which owns Kmart.

“Store closures are part of a series of actions we’re taking to reduce ongoing expenses, adjust our asset base and accelerate the transformation of our business model,” Riefs said in a statement. “These actions will better enable us to focus our investments on serving our customers and members through integrated retail — at the store, online and in the home.”

Riefs said the Mount Pleasant store has 43 employees, and they are able to apply for positions at other Kmart and Sears stores.

Kmart’s portfolio of brands includes Sofia by Sofia Vergara, Jaclyn Smith, Joe Boxer, Route 66 and Smart Sense, according to its website.

The town of Mount Pleasant has not received any development submissions for the Kmart site, according to Kelly Cousino, senior planner for the town. She said the property is zoned as an areawide business district and is located in the urban corridor overlay district (.pdf).

The urban corridor overlay district, according to Cousino, “allows a variety of uses, including retail, office, service, restaurant, entertainment, civic and residential uses.”